How to Build a 4x4 in 48 Hours
On this episode of Dirt Every Day presented by Tire Rack
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MotorTranscript
00:00 This week on Do It Every Day we're going to show you how to turn this Ford F-250
00:03 into this Ford F-250
00:06 and do it in one weekend
00:09 [Music]
00:33 [Music]
00:45 Back it on up
00:47 Little this way, little this way
00:49 Looking good
00:51 [Music]
00:55 So we got this '94 Ford F-250 from Iron Planet
00:58 Iron Planet is the construction side of GovPlanet
01:01 GovPlanet is that website where we got the Humvee and the military trucks that we built in prior episodes
01:06 While Iron Planet is where they sell tractors and bulldozers, dump trucks and everything that you use for construction
01:12 Even smaller vehicles like this Ford F-250
01:15 We picked this Ford F-250 because it's a basic pickup truck
01:18 just like anybody could get off the auctions and build it into something that is a normal four-wheel drive
01:23 So the idea is we have two days and we're going to do things to this that a normal guy would do to his pickup truck
01:29 We're going to try and slam it all together in 48 hours
01:32 but most people may stretch this out over a few months or a few weeks
01:35 The idea is simple, lift it, bigger tires, put a locker in the rear, put a winch up front
01:40 and next weekend we're going four-wheeling
01:43 Morning Dave
01:46 Hi Fred
01:47 We stayed last night and we tore the truck apart
01:50 We have a nice pile of parts here that we'll probably throw up on the local Craigslist
01:55 Today we're going to put a locker in the rear end, I got a grizzly locker from the guys over at UConn
02:00 and Dave's going to start building a bumper so that we can protect the air conditioning
02:05 because this is like the first project we've ever built with air conditioning
02:08 That's the house brand winch from Tractor Supply
02:11 We just picked it up for $329 for that 10,000 pound traveler
02:15 It comes with a remote control and hardware to bolt it to
02:18 Then we picked up this winch plate, this makes it a little bit easier to mount your winch
02:22 If we had a Jeep it would probably bolt right on there, but we don't
02:25 So we're going to make a whole new front bumper using this used 4-inch Schedule 40 pipe
02:31 I don't know if somebody's actually pooped in it or not, but we got a good deal on it and that's all that counts
02:37 So we're going to make these three things look cool on the front of this old truck
02:50 When you want to change the rear differential carrier or gears, you just pull the axle shafts out
02:56 So you notice here there's eight bolts that hold this axle shaft onto the hub
03:00 I've already removed the bolts and then I will slide this out
03:04 It's probably kind of tight because it's got a gasket in there
03:07 Just pop this axle shaft out, fill gear oil all over the floor
03:17 That's as far as you need to bring the axle shafts out, they just need to be out far enough
03:21 So they don't engage into the differential in the rear
03:24 So we'll pull both axle shafts out and then we will run a pattern on the gear set
03:29 Because we're not changing the ring and pinion ratio, we're only changing the carrier
03:33 Right now it's an open carrier, we're putting a grizzly locker in which is automatic
03:36 I'm going to try and figure out what gear ratio is in here
03:39 So we'll take the ring and pinion out, count the teeth, put the new locker in, button it all back up
03:44 And then we will have a full locker in the rear end which will be much better for operating
03:48 This is the rear end differential that was in the back of the Ford
04:03 It's an open differential, it has a ring gear here
04:07 There are 41 ring gear teeth and then I also counted the pinion teeth
04:12 There's 10 pinion teeth, so that means we have a 41 to 10 ratio
04:17 Which is a 410 ratio, which is actually perfect for this truck
04:20 That will give us low enough gears to run the 37s
04:23 If we wanted to we could re-gear the whole truck, probably down to maybe 456 or 488
04:29 But we don't really have time to tear the front end apart, so we're just going to leave it at 410s
04:33 This is our new rear differential, this is the grizzly locker
04:36 Yukon makes this and they also sent us an install kit
04:39 Because we're just going to take this ring gear and put it on there
04:42 We knew that we weren't going to re-gear it, so we only ordered parts just to swap the ring gear over
04:46 I think it will be perfect for what we're looking to do
04:49 I'm going to take this ring gear off, clean everything, install it on this
04:53 And then set up the bearings and stab it back in the rear end and be back on the road
04:58 I put the grizzly locker in, we reused the 410 gears
05:07 We actually reused all the shims and it worked out better
05:11 We have a better gear pattern now than we did before
05:14 It feels good, it doesn't feel too tight, it doesn't feel too loose
05:17 I bolted the axle shafts back in
05:19 I cleaned off the old gasket material and the Yukon kit comes with a new gasket
05:24 So I'm going to clean off all the fasteners, bolt the cover back on, fill it up with gear oil
05:29 And the rear end is ready to go four-wheeling
05:32 How's your bumper Dave?
05:34 It's almost done
05:36 I'm totally dominating on this winch bumper
05:39 I made this pipe into something cool and welded something that was already kind of cool to it
05:44 I'm just going to make it twice as cool
05:46 Weld this into there and then we've got these other cool plates that Fred found in his pile of cool stuff
05:52 We're going to weld those on there and that will be pretty cool
05:55 Because then you've got a tow point and it will give us something to weld a cool little wing off of
05:59 So it should be pretty cool
06:01 What do you think Fred?
06:03 Cool
06:05 The end of the bumper is always hard to figure out how to finish it off
06:08 You could overdo it like crazy
06:11 But I'm going to just put this piece of pipe that I capped off on here
06:15 Weld it on, call it done
06:17 And then go four-wheeling
06:19 What are you doing Dave?
06:23 Cleaning out the dirt and rust from this rust hole
06:25 How's your bumper coming?
06:27 It's pretty good, it's almost done
06:28 Alright, we have the locker in the rear and the BDS lift kit just showed up, it's a four inch lift
06:32 We're going to put a block in the rear
06:34 That's cool
06:35 So we broke the number one rule of working on your truck
06:38 Which is clean the truck before you put it in your shop
06:42 I thought it was disconnect the battery terminals
06:44 We broke two of the first rules of working on your truck
06:47 Luckily this truck is not completely rusted
06:50 If this was Michigan there would be
06:52 No truck here at all
06:53 Pretty much be no truck, it would be completely rusted
06:55 So we're going to pull this rear end apart, it's on jack stands
06:58 Raise it up a little bit, put a block in there
07:00 Put some new shocks on the rear and the rear end will be done
07:02 I've got to build a rear bumper
07:04 The rear bumper is going to be pretty difficult isn't it?
07:06 No, the rear bumper is like a fraction
07:08 It's going to be very ornate
07:10 It's a piece of pipe with some things welded on the ends and that's it
07:13 Some bull horns, multiple shackle recovery points
07:16 And some reflectors
07:18 I've got to finish the front
07:28 Putting these Fox Performance Series EDS 2.0's on the rear of this Ford
07:35 It's pretty simple, you just put bushings in
07:38 And they bolt right back in to where the original shocks were
07:42 The most difficult part is you have to compress the shock
07:45 To get the lower bolt in
07:47 So I'm going to get both of them mounted up here
07:49 And then wrestle to get them to the bottom
07:55 These are the General Grabber X3's that we had on the Gambler van
08:00 And the wheels were originally on the JK that we had out in Toledo
08:05 These are 37's and the lift says it will clear 35's
08:09 But we're pretty sure we can make these clear
08:11 There's already a little body rot in the truck so it will be fine if we have to trim
08:15 I'm pretty sure the rear is not going to be a problem
08:17 In the front, maybe it would have hit the stock bumper
08:20 But with Dave's new high clearance, super performance off-road
08:23 Heckin' cool guy, fabulous bumper
08:25 We're probably not going to have a problem up there either
08:27 How'd we do Dave?
08:29 We dominated Dave number one and a half
08:31 We have a front bumper
08:32 It's awesome, check it out
08:34 We have a rear bumper
08:35 We have that, it's awesome too but you won't see it until later
08:37 We have a winch on the front and some off-roading lights
08:39 And they work
08:40 The winch is wired in
08:41 The lights are almost done
08:43 We have a locker in the rear
08:44 Rear suspension's in, rear shocks are in
08:46 We've got to do the front suspension tomorrow
08:49 I'm looking at the whiteboard
08:50 Front suspension, finish the wheels and tires and get some lug nuts
08:53 We've got to get the right lug nuts
08:55 And this thing's ready to go four-wheeling
08:57 It's pretty neat that in one weekend
08:59 You can take a basically stock, boring old work truck
09:02 And turn it into a pretty cool boring old work truck
09:04 Look at this thing, it looks bad to the bone
09:07 You want to keep working? It's Saturday night
09:09 Heck no
09:10 Alright, let's get the heck out of here
09:11 See you
09:12 40 hours in
09:24 What time is it?
09:25 It's in the morning, on Sunday
09:27 Alright, so we have until 5 o'clock today
09:29 We have this done
09:30 We found some new problems
09:31 We've got a few leaks
09:33 And then we're tearing apart the steering
09:35 To get the front end torn apart
09:37 To put the front half of the suspension on
09:39 And then we're done
09:40 Do you want to do rock sliders?
09:41 No
09:42 We're going to smash the rock sliders all up
09:44 I'm going back to work back here
09:45 Alright, we're going to tear this thing apart
09:47 We've got less than 8 hours to get this done
09:49 On the Iron Planet
09:50 4x4 in 48 hours build
09:54 (drilling)
09:58 Look how flat that wimpy leaf spring is, Fred
10:16 Here we are standing around some suspension parts
10:19 These are the leaf springs
10:20 That are going to go in the front of the Ford
10:22 Can you guess which one is the new one from BDS
10:24 And which one is the old one?
10:26 Notice all the extra arch
10:28 The front spring is so flat
10:29 That before when the suspension would compress
10:31 It would actually invert
10:33 But now it should go to flat
10:36 Yeah, it's going to be cool
10:38 So we're going to stuff it in here
10:39 Unfortunately we've got to get that pitman arm off
10:41 We don't have the right pitman arm puller
10:43 And then we'll do the same on that side
10:45 And then the front suspension will need some shocks
10:47 We're down to like 5 and a half hours
10:50 (drilling)
10:53 So the old F-250 is almost done
11:11 We've got like the 37s are done on the back
11:13 They look awesome
11:15 The suspension is all in in the back
11:17 Everything is in up front
11:18 Other than some new steering parts
11:20 Because the other stuff is all worn out
11:22 Set it down, tighten some bolts and peel out
11:24 Fred, it's almost 5
11:26 Alright
11:27 Steering is done
11:29 Let's grab these generals
11:31 Get it? General grabbers?
11:33 That's a good one
11:34 We bolt these things on
11:35 We'll set the tow and the steering
11:37 And I think we're done
11:41 This thing is going to look cool
11:44 If you have a truck like this
11:46 It's a pretty simple truck
11:47 It's a V8 engine, manual transmission
11:49 And it just has a leaf spring suspension
11:51 So it's not really that complicated
11:53 It's kind of cool that you can build a truck like this
11:56 In one long weekend
11:58 Dave, where do you want to go four wheeling?
12:00 I've never four wheeled in Colorado
12:01 I want to go there
12:04 We're going to go to Colorado next weekend
12:05 Take our truck
12:07 Dave, that means we have to get this truck to Colorado
12:09 By next weekend
12:11 (music)
12:13 We did it, Fred!
12:15 Alright, it's 5 o'clock Sunday
12:18 We have a truck that could basically go on
12:20 Ultimate Adventure if it had a front locker
12:23 It has a winch, it has a rear locker
12:25 It has a lift kit, it has 37 inch tall tires
12:27 It needs a roll bar
12:29 It does need a roll bar
12:31 Let's go test it out
12:32 Let's go for a drive
12:34 (music)
12:43 See if it does a turnaround in this field
12:46 Yeah! Do that thing!
12:48 Woo!
12:50 (laughing)
12:52 We always get dirty when we do donuts
12:54 (laughing)
12:56 (music)
13:25 (music)
13:51 Alright, so last weekend we built the F250 in 48 hours
13:55 And it's a week later and we are out in Colorado
13:57 We came to Carbondale to meet up with Stephen Watson
13:59 Stephen's been on the show before
14:01 He was there when we did the Alaska Army Truck
14:03 And Stephen's a full size truck guy
14:05 But he's a Chevy guy
14:06 And we brought a Ford to his backyard
14:08 And so we figured he would take us to a trail
14:10 That we could take
14:12 A full size truck with one rear locker
14:14 37's and a winch
14:15 So Stephen, what's the plan?
14:16 Where are you going to get us to see some Ford action?
14:18 We have done this before
14:20 With a Chevy truck
14:22 So we're going to see how this works out
14:24 With the other kind
14:26 But it's about the same size
14:28 So we'll be okay
14:30 And I see you have a crew cab
14:31 So there's plenty of seats if we have to leave our truck
14:33 And ride home with you
14:34 We could probably even pull the carcass
14:36 (laughing)
14:37 I shouldn't talk too bad
14:38 Now this thing's going to fall apart
14:40 So we're going to Holy Cross City
14:42 Which is basically an old mine road
14:45 Going up to an old mining site
14:47 And it's kind of cool
14:49 We'll go over some dirt and gravel passes
14:51 To get over there, drive some highway
14:53 There will be some hardcore stuff
14:55 We can get into it if we need to
14:57 It will be pretty the whole way
14:59 It's color season so that's all nice
15:01 So if we break down at least we'll have beautiful scenery
15:03 It will be the best place ever to break down
15:05 Alright, let's go four wheeling
15:07 This is all a guy needs
15:16 Is a regular cab truck with a manual transmission
15:18 Look at that nice stream
15:20 We could go fishing
15:22 Lots of people use 4x4's to just go
15:24 Like, they'll drive out here
15:26 And then they'll like lay on that rock
15:28 And take a nap in the sunshine
15:30 Man, Colorado's gorgeous
15:32 Why don't we live here?
15:34 I don't know, this is dumb
15:36 We should see if the state of Colorado
15:38 Would sponsor dirt every day
15:40 There's tons of dirt here
15:42 You could drive every day
15:44 This thing rides really good
15:46 (music)
15:48 Here we go
15:52 Check it out, Holy Cross
15:54 City 4x4 trail
15:56 Looks just like it did on the internet
15:58 Except more awesomer
16:00 Dave, what are you doing?
16:02 Airing these tires down
16:04 That sounds like a perfect opportunity to talk
16:06 For the Tire Rack Minute
16:08 Perfect, because it will take about a minute
16:10 So, a tire is basically a big heavy rubber balloon
16:12 Now when you're running on the road
16:14 You want a higher tire pressure
16:16 Because it keeps the tires cooler
16:18 But when you're going off road
16:20 We often want to air down the tires
16:22 Now what that does is it allows the bottom of the tire
16:24 To kind of spread out and it opens up the tire tread
16:26 And it gives you more traction for going up the trail
16:28 So these wheels are not beadlock wheels
16:30 A beadlock wheel actually clamps
16:32 On to the bead of the wheel
16:34 But if you don't have beadlocks
16:36 And you air down too low, you can actually
16:38 Knock the tire off the bead
16:40 And then you've got to reseat the bead out on the trail
16:42 Which is not really convenient
16:44 The tire pressure is kind of dependent on the size tire
16:46 And the weight of the truck
16:48 If you're running a really heavy truck
16:50 With a lot of heavy load in the back
16:52 Say you have a camper or a fifth wheel or a gooseneck
16:54 You're going to want your tires aired up
16:56 Probably 50, 60 PSI
16:58 Depending on the rating of the tire
17:00 Most of the trucks just running down the road
17:02 25 to 35 is a pretty good ground
17:04 That keeps the tire cool
17:06 You run lower than that, the truck gets squirrely
17:08 And the tires can heat up really quick
17:10 So there's your little tip for airing down tires
17:12 We're going to rock crawling
17:14 [Music]
17:16 [Music]
17:18 [Music]
17:20 (upbeat rock music)
17:23 (upbeat rock music)
17:26 (upbeat rock music)
17:29 (upbeat rock music)
17:54 - I think we should get the heck out of California.
17:57 - The problem is that with this show,
17:59 we've seen so much cool stuff,
18:00 we have to buy a place in like 40 different states now.
18:03 - I know why you wanted me to drive this,
18:06 'cause you didn't want to fall in love with it.
18:08 - Yeah.
18:09 - And then have to buy it.
18:09 (upbeat rock music)
18:12 (upbeat rock music)
18:15 - Airing down the tires is where it's at.
18:32 - Yeah.
18:33 - Watch this, there's a bunch of ledgy things right here
18:35 that we're gonna drive up.
18:36 - And the tires won't even have a problem,
18:37 they'll just laugh them off, they'll be like.
18:39 (laughing)
18:40 - Bring on something bigger.
18:42 - We don't care, we're aired down.
18:44 What was our other excuse for why we're still
18:48 in California and not out here?
18:50 - My house isn't done, so I can't sell it, and you.
18:55 - I have trucks that aren't done, so I can't sell them.
18:58 - Yeah.
18:58 - You know what we should do, we should put a call out
19:00 to every small town in America,
19:03 who wants to invite the Dirt Heads to be.
19:05 - Their neighbors.
19:06 - Their residents in their town.
19:09 - Careful Fred, the road goes from moderate
19:11 to difficult, vehicle recovery will be costly.
19:13 - All right, man you really made me nervous now.
19:16 (laughing)
19:18 Dramatic high five, David.
19:34 - Woo, nailed it, yeah.
19:35 (laughing)
19:38 (upbeat music)
19:40 (upbeat music)
19:43 (upbeat music)
19:45 (engine revving)
19:57 (upbeat music)
20:07 (upbeat music)
20:10 - I can't see anything.
20:18 - I see lots of rocks.
20:21 - Yeah.
20:22 Ready, David, give it a little bump.
20:25 - Looking good, Watson.
20:26 - Yeah, about like that.
20:29 I think you stay a little driver here.
20:31 Oh yeah, she's got it.
20:34 - All right, Drew.
20:37 (engine revving)
20:39 - Piece of cake, dude.
20:42 - Work truck action, man.
20:44 (laughing)
20:46 - That was rad.
20:48 - That thing's killing it.
20:50 (upbeat music)
21:06 - Ooh, rock.
21:07 - Rocky Creek crossing?
21:09 - Yeah, straight into the sun.
21:12 Looking good, Watson.
21:13 This is so cool.
21:19 - It is cool.
21:20 - The people in Colorado are gonna hate
21:23 that we're telling people it's awesome here.
21:26 - They're like, enough people moved here
21:27 because of the legalization.
21:30 - Tell people not to come here.
21:32 - Looking good, Watson.
21:35 - I can't see him.
21:36 (laughing)
21:39 That was more just for moral support.
21:41 Hey Steve, is that the Chevy line over there?
21:44 'Cause it looks like the real obstacle's
21:46 over here on the right.
21:47 - Come over here and see what it does.
21:50 (laughing)
21:52 - Passing on the right, okay, on this trail?
21:59 - Yeah, you just gotta stay inside the signs.
22:01 (laughing)
22:05 - I think that's--
22:06 - Good sense.
22:09 - TTVs?
22:10 - It's looking really close to drive shaft on that boulder.
22:17 - I'm gonna go help Steve try and get off that rock
22:19 before he takes out the rear drive shaft
22:21 'cause if he breaks this big old truck,
22:23 we're gonna be here all night.
22:24 How we looking?
22:27 - I think what we need to do is kind of pull
22:30 that direction.
22:31 - Okay.
22:32 Give it one shot up through.
22:35 - Okay.
22:36 - And if not, he's gonna winch off the tree.
22:38 - Okay.
22:39 - Good line.
22:40 Little more passenger, try that.
23:02 (engine revving)
23:04 - No, you're in the steering.
23:13 - The hole's a little larger than it looks.
23:15 - Yeah.
23:17 - Give it a little back, one shot.
23:19 No, no, no, no.
23:22 (upbeat music)
23:27 - I think we got her in there good.
23:30 (laughing)
23:31 - If we go forward, are we gonna just destroy the steering?
23:34 - Let me look.
23:35 Yeah, you already did.
23:37 - Oh, really?
23:38 - Yeah.
23:38 - Like really destroyed it?
23:40 - It's just kind of like banana that side.
23:44 Fred, give it a little back.
23:45 No.
23:48 It's done.
23:50 - It's not going?
23:51 - No, it's totally hung up
23:53 and the tie rod is just like a banana.
23:56 - Ah, no.
23:58 - The Watsons are hung up
24:00 and they're about to take out a rear drive shaft.
24:02 I think we did what we came to do.
24:03 - We built a truck in 48 hours,
24:06 brought it all the way to Colorado,
24:08 found an awesome trail,
24:10 got all the way up it,
24:11 and then got ourselves good and stuck.
24:13 But luckily, you guys can buy this truck
24:16 after we get it out of here
24:17 because we brought Steven Watson's dad
24:19 to drag us off this mountain
24:21 and hopefully we'll be home before dark.
24:22 - Thanks, Papa Watson.
24:24 - That's it for "Do It Every Day."
24:25 We'll see you guys next time.
24:27 - Stop.
24:30 Come on.
24:31 That was nothing.
24:34 (gunshots)
24:46 (dog barking)
24:50 - Fred, you're gonna hurt yourself.
24:54 (whooshing)